Reduce to lowest terms: $- \dfrac{5}{2} \div - \dfrac{1}{7} = {?}$
Solution: Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by the reciprocal of the fraction. The reciprocal of $- \dfrac{1}{7}$ is $- \dfrac{7}{1}$ Therefore: $ - \dfrac{5}{2} \div - \dfrac{1}{7} = - \dfrac{5}{2} \times - \dfrac{7}{1} $ $ \phantom{- \dfrac{5}{2} \times - \dfrac{7}{1}} = \dfrac{-5 \times -7}{2 \times 1} $ $ \phantom{- \dfrac{5}{2} \times - \dfrac{7}{1}} = \dfrac{35}{2} $